Thompsons of Prudhoe successfully brought down the iconic Dorman Long tower at the former Redcar steelworks in an explosive demolition over the weekend.
The building was brought down in the early hours of Sunday morning in a series of 10 second controlled explosions which saw four major structures demolished at once.
The project went ahead after new culture secretary Nadine Dorries overturned a decision by Historic England last week to grade II list the concrete coal silo, which campaigners were battling to save as a symbol of Britain’s industrial heritage on Teesside.
An independent report by engineers Atkins showed “ongoing and irreversible” damage to the structure meant it could cost between £7m and £9m to secure and maintain.
Concrete cracking and weakening saw concerns raised about demolition costs rising further in future years.
Structures before being brought down in controlled demolition by Thompsons
The demolition, which was carried out at night in order to avoid disruption to train services, paves the way for a mammoth new factory to manufacture wind turbine blades.
Wind turbine manufacturing and assembly facility at Teesworks
The huge 800,000 sq ft facility, in the South Bank zone of the Teesworks site, will sit alongside a new 1km heavy lift quay, creating the UK’s premier location for offshore wind.
Construction is due to begin in October sustaining 2,250 construction jobs before the factory comes on line.
The first blade is expected to roll off the production line in 2023, with the factory serving Dogger Bank, the world’s largest wind farm located just 80 miles off the North East coast.
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